Emergency rooms, some drugstores to accept enrollment forms in lieu of IDs

Linda Bowden

By Times-News

Published: Friday, January 10, 2014 at 01:25 PM.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has extended the payment deadline until Jan. 24 for health insurance claims back to Jan. 1, said Scott Allred of Don Allred Insurance in Burlington.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2.1 million people had enrolled in a private health insurance plan through federal and state-based marketplaces from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Individuals had until Dec. 23 to enroll in a plan for it to become effective Jan. 1. Premium payments were required by Jan. 10.

But BCBS has said that “if you enroll prior to Dec. 24 and we receive payment by Jan. 24, claims will be paid back to Jan. 1 no matter what,” Allred said.

BCBS call centers are experiencing a high volume of calls, he said, and are adding Saturday hours: Starting today, they’ll be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. The wait time is about three hours, Allred said.

BCBS was sending out ID cards starting Friday, he said. “Be patient,” he said. “Everybody’s going to receive a card.”

Walgreens and CVS drugstores nationwide are filling prescriptions even if patients don’t have ID cards as long as they have copies of their enrollment, Allred said.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has extended the payment deadline until Jan. 24 for health insurance claims back to Jan. 1, said Scott Allred of Don Allred Insurance in Burlington.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2.1 million people had enrolled in a private health insurance plan through federal and state-based marketplaces from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Individuals had until Dec. 23 to enroll in a plan for it to become effective Jan. 1. Premium payments were required by Jan. 10.

But BCBS has said that “if you enroll prior to Dec. 24 and we receive payment by Jan. 24, claims will be paid back to Jan. 1 no matter what,” Allred said.

BCBS call centers are experiencing a high volume of calls, he said, and are adding Saturday hours: Starting today, they’ll be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. The wait time is about three hours, Allred said.

BCBS was sending out ID cards starting Friday, he said. “Be patient,” he said. “Everybody’s going to receive a card.”

Walgreens and CVS drugstores nationwide are filling prescriptions even if patients don’t have ID cards as long as they have copies of their enrollment, Allred said.

He urged patients who need to go to a hospital emergency room not to fail to go just because they don’t have ID cards.